Thursday, May 19, 2016

Book review: Counted With the Stars by Connilyn Cossette

Kiya is a young, privileged Egyptian woman, who is fiercely loyal to her family. But when her father is forced to sell her to a family friend to pay his debts, her life changes dramatically. Instead of being served, she is now serving an ill-tempered mistress. The bright spot in her new life is a friendship that develops with a Hebrew slave girl, and Kiya learns about Yahweh, the Hebrew God. Then the plagues begin, and distrust abounds toward the Hebrews and Hebrew sympathizers, as they are not affected by all the plagues.

This was an amazing book to read, learn about Egyptian culture, and experience the Exodus through the eyes of an Egyptian. I really felt as if I was there, dealing with the horror of the plagues. As someone who is already familiar with the Biblical account of the Exodus, I was eagerly turning the pages to discover what would happen next.

This book is a well-researched and deftly crafted novel. In her debut novel, Connilyn Cossette invokes all of a reader’s senses as the story plays out. I highly recommend this book for fans of biblical fiction.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Bethany House, in exchange for an honest review, which I have given.

About the author:

When she is not homeschooling her two sweet kids (with a full pot of coffee at hand), Connilyn Cossette is scribbling notes on spare paper, mumbling about her imaginary friends, and reading obscure, out-of-print history books. There is nothing she likes better than digging into the rich, ancient world of the Bible and uncovering buried gems of grace that point toward Jesus. Her novel Counted With the Stars won the 2013 Frasier Contest and was a semifinalist in the 2013 ACFW Genesis Contest. Although a Pacific Northwest native, she now lives near Dallas, Texas. Connect with her at www.connilyncossette.com.